Visiting Singapore for only a day or two? This itinerary is perfect for short-haul travellers

Seated in Michael Wilson’s Michelin-starred restaurant Marguerite, set within the Flower Dome, we tucked into a delightful four-course meal. For a moment, we let go of the urge to worry about ticking off the next stop on our Singapore trip. It was then that we realised just how many short-haul and business travellers must be craving to experience this city on fleeting trips of only two or three days with hardly any time to spare.

This city’s welcoming, familiar atmosphere makes it hard to leave without exploring — even if it means revisiting its famous spots. If ‘cliché’ comes to mind, dismiss it, because these places always offer something new, drawing visitors back to see them in a fresh light. For example, Singapore is all set to host Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience while already boasting mesmarising other attractions like illumi — A Magical Universe of Lights & Multimedia with nine themed worlds to indulge in, Monet Inside — an immersive theatrical exhibition that invites visitors on a special journey through the life of Claude Monet and Disney Cruise-themed pop-up to open at Jewel Changi Airport.

This itinerary is designed for those escaping disappointment at destinations and long queues. Your choices might vary depending on your schedule and interests, but the city’s iconic landmarks are famed as the beating heart of the ‘Lion City’ because they entice all kinds of guests and also because most luxe hotels, like ours — Mandarin Oriental — are located in the vicinity. Towering over Marina Bay, the best feature of this 1987's luxurious 5-star hotel is not only limited to its renowned Mo Bar, stunning outdoor pool or it's heritage interiors but also its rooms. We picked to stay at the property's Sea View Room boasting panoramic views of the sea, the Singapore Flyer, Gardens By The Bay and this spacious sanctuary is designed with warm hues of the sunrise infused with local design elements.

The first order of business post-touchdown is always hunting for food. After a swift check-in — we crossed the Helix Bridge, which offers a view of the Merlion, Singapore’s mythical lion-fish mascot — in search of breakfast. On impulse, we chose a café at the ArtScience Museum, saving us time and allowing us to check out the popular Future World: Where Art Meets Science permanent exhibition by teamLabs, a digital playground with 17 interactive installations including slides, doodle corners, a crystal universe and aerial climbing and more — all designed to bring out your inner child. Specially for Anime fans also have The World of Studio Ghibli, running through February and more such themed exhibitions here to suit the interests of every art and science enthusiast. The best part? They are all highly interactive, immersive and simply beautiful, just like this Asian city is.

With most shops closing at 10 pm, finding late night activities in the city centre can be tricky. For night owls, we recommend taking an MRT to Spring Leaf station to catch the free shuttle to the Singapore Night Safari, where wildlife adventure tram rides run till 11.15 pm. Since the park is open until midnight, there’s time to explore trails like Leopard, Fishing Cat, Wallaby and many others to get up and close to these majestic creatures. We sure had an amazing time catching the white tigers engaging in an argument leading to a full-blown fight, complete with tackle attacks, bites and slaps. A highlight for us was spotting rare species like the Malayan Tapir roaming freely while fulfilling our long-standing dream of braving the eerie-sounding jungles, watching animals in every nook and cranny of the park go about their day, at bewitching hours.

Make travelling 22 kilometres to this place worth it by adding one or more experiences at Mandai Wildlife Reserve such as the half-day at Bird Paradise, where we wandered among 3,500 birds in eight aviaries, with feathered friends sometimes flying right above us or perching nearby. Covering regions from Asia to Australia and beyond, this park doesn’t just offer a glimpse into the daily life of winged creatures but includes activities like feeding sessions, ‘keeper talks’ and even glamping.

And let us warn you that you will fall in love with this place and would want to return every now then. From the fun bridges to the natural native looking habitats and learning rooms, this Asia's largest bird park, which opened just last year, is where we probably wore out our feet but were also the happiest at heart. Must visit zones include Kuok Group Wings of Asia sporting Hornbills, spoonbills and other fascinating birds of Asia nestled among the tall bamboo grooves and paddy terraces while equally enchanting is the Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove where you not only get to watch flightless species take a dip underwater and emerge onto the icy beach revealing vivid variety of waddling penguins.

Though work kept most of our days occupied, nights were all about returning to Chinatown for local dishes at Hawkers Centre, Kopi and Kaya Toast and browsing the onedollar souvenir stalls. Speaking of souvenirs, it’s hard to leave Singapore without picking up something from Charles & Keith, at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands — an ideal place to go all out on retail therapy, given that luxury designer labels, upscale dining options and even traditional sampan boat rides are all within the mall.

Across the road from the iconic Marina Bay Sands lies Gardens by the Bay, where we spent the final afternoon of our trip knowing we would linger here until nightfall. One can also pay a visit to the Buddha Relic Temple and Sri Mariamman Temple, which are at a walking distance from the Chinatown MRT station. And we began with the leisurely lunch serving standout dishes like Marcona Almond, Charentais Melon and the divine dessert of Chocolate, Peanut and Salted Caramel with Banana Sorbet. To our delight, dining at Marguerite also granted us complimentary entry into the Flower Dome, currently hosting a vivid Carnival of Flowers, complete with ferris wheel rides and a carousels crafted entirely from fresh blooms.

However, the limited-time interactive exhibition dedicated to impressionist master Claude Monet, titled Impressions of Monet, completely stole our hearts by showcasing his famous house, water lilies and other iconic works. Yet, the real enchantment lay in the mist-laden Cloud Forest featuring Lost World, Cloud Walk, Crystal Mountain, Tree Top Walk, Secret Garden and the piece de résistance , the mesmerising indoor waterfall. Do not miss sighting the mni and micro orchids and plan you visit around misting time for a surreal experience at this landmark.

A friendly local had advised us to explore the domes first, as they close by eight in the evening — a valuable tip we were grateful for as we would have lost track of time venturing outdoors between Floral Fantasy, Kingfisher Wetlands and Dragonfly Lake, among other attractions. Alas, we ended up beneath the towering Supertrees, as dusk fell, we awaited the famed light and sound show, the Garden Rhapsody — a magical conclusion to our happy days in Singapore.

Leaving the city behind and headed towards the Changi Aiport, we were fully aware that next time we would return to holiday our hearts out at all the fun-filled places like Universal Stuidos, Museum of Ice Cream and Sentosa but this trip for us, proved to be a full circle moment as we finally witnessed places we’d often written about as travel journalists.

STAY AT: Mandarin Oriental. Singapore has daily flights from all the major Indian cities.